The Daily American reports 39-year-old Lorrie Sue Fisher, of Friedens, was sentenced Thursday. She pleaded guilty to stealing the money from the Somerset County Vietnam Veterans of American Chapter 587 when she served as the group's bookkeeper for two months in 2010.

Public defender Michael Kuhn says Fisher is working hard to make restitution, and she apologized at her sentencing saying, "I know what I did was truly wrong."

The money was stolen from a fund used to buy flowers for veterans' families after their loved one died, but some was earmarked for a county courthouse memorial installed last year that had to be changed for lack of funds.

Veteran Terry Menear said the group started to notice money had disappeared after Fisher came on as a bookkeeper.

"There was a special meeting called, because there was no money to pay the bills," Menear said.

That money took years to raise and it's supposed to benefit the community. "Our disabled veterans that are in the veteran's homes -- that's what really burns us," Menear said.

Despite the betrayal, the veterans said they managed to find a way three years later to still construct their Vietnam memorial in front of the courthouse. "We had to sell all of our assets to finish raising money for that," Menear said.

Menear said they will still help others in need. "We feel when it's too tough for everybody else, it's just right for us," he said.